Personal user network (closed user network) PUN/CUN

ABSTRACT

An Internet Protocol Telephony Network and public switched telephone network, in which closed user groups may be dynamically defined and modified to take advantage of special billing within the closed user groups. Abbreviated dialing within the closed user groups may also be used to make dialing more convenient. The closed user groups may include members anywhere in a global network, and may take advantage of the special billing, regardless of whether the members are located in different states and/or countries.

A cross-reference of related applications are provided at the end of theDetailed Description of Preferred Embodiments section of the presentapplication.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to communication between users in diversecommunication systems, and more particularly, to providing a broadbandcommunication system including an Internet Protocol Telephony Networkand public switched telephone network.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Present day telephony voice networks, have a network built aroundcircuit switches, end offices, a toll network, tandem switches, andtwisted wires. These voice networks are referred to as a public switchedtelephone network (PSTN) or plain old telephone service (POTS). Due tobandwidth limitations of plain old telephone service (POTS), there is aninherent inability to efficiently integrate multiple types of media suchas telephony, data communication for personal computers (PC), andtelevision (TV) broadcasts. Accordingly, a new broadband architecture isrequired. This new architecture gives rise to a new array of userservices.

There is also a need to provide improved flexible billing plans in atelephony network. For instance, telephony service providers may wish toprovide subscribers with unique telephone rate plans based on the user'smost frequented calls or based on the subscribers' preferences. Whileconventional telephony systems offer customized billing plans, they areoften of limited practical use because they are typically notdynamically flexible. It would be desirable to be able to be able toselect between different billing plans on the fly, as well as to havethe billing plans automatically adjust to changing circumstances.

It would also be desirable to provide subscribers with the ability tocontact one or more particular other subscribers in a more direct waythan via a conventional phone call, such as via intercom-likecommunication. While conventional telephony systems offer dedicatedlinks such as dedicated T1 links between parties, such dedicated linksare expensive and require that a large amount of bandwidth be reservedfor use any time by the parties leasing the T1 links. It would be moreefficient to be able to provide such direct linking between subscriberswithout having to pre-reserve a physical link and/or network bandwidth.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the invention include to providing broadband accesscapabilities or enhanced services for use in conjunction with apacketized network such as an Internet Protocol (IP) based systeminfrastructure.

Other aspects of the invention include providing one or more of thefollowing either individually, or in any combination or subcombination:

a new broadband architecture;

broadband network capabilities, including local access; and

enhanced services for use in conjunction with a packetized network suchas an Internet Protocol (IP) based system infrastructure.

For example, according to one aspect of the present invention, systemsand methods may provide special billing to closed user groups. Themembership of the closed user groups may be defined by the member(s) ofthe closed user groups and/or by sources external to the closed usergroups and/or the network. The external sources may periodically updatethe membership of the closed user groups depending upon the membershipof, e.g., organizations external to and/or independent of the network.An advantage of calling within a closed user group is that the networkmay bill such a call at a rate different from a rate that would be usedif the calling party were not a member of the closed user group.

Another aspect of the invention provides for abbreviated dialing withina closed user group. Using abbreviated dialing, a calling member of theclosed user group does not need to dial the complete directory number ofa called member. Instead, the calling member just dials a shorterabbreviated number that identifies the called member within the closeduser group. If the dialed digits are abbreviated the network maydetermine whether the calling member is a member of any closed usergroups. If the calling member is a member, then the network maydetermine the identity of the called member based on the abbreviateddialed digits. The network may then establish a call between the callingand called members. The network may also bill the call at a ratedifferent from a rate that would be used if the calling member were nota member of the closed user group.

Although the invention has been defined using the appended claims, theseclaims are exemplary and not limiting to the extent that the inventionis meant to include one or more elements from the apparatus and methodsdescribed herein and in the applications incorporated by reference inany combination or subcombination. Accordingly, there are any number ofalternative combinations for defining the invention, which incorporateone or more elements from the specification (including the drawings,claims, and applications incorporated by reference) in any combinationsor subcombinations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a broadband network (e.g.,broadband IP based network) in accordance with a preferred embodiment ofaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a centralizedcontrol (IP central station) in accordance with aspects of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a preferred embodiment of a localcontrol apparatus (broadband residential gateway) in accordance withaspects of the present invention.

FIG. 4 shows a detailed schematic representation of an exemplaryembodiment of the broadband network shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a typical on-network tooff-network call according to one preferred method of operating thebroadband network shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a signal flow diagram illustrating a typical on-network toon-network call according to one preferred method of operating thebroadband network shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of steps that may beinvolved in providing CUG service according to aspects of the presentinvention.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of another exemplary embodiment of steps that maybe involved in providing CUG service according to aspects of the presentinvention.

FIG. 9A illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the output of a displayand interface at a subscriber's CPE that may be used in connection withusing CUG service according to aspects of the present invention.

FIG. 9B illustrates another exemplary embodiment of the output of adisplay and interface at a subscriber's CPE that may be used inconnection with provisioning CUG service according to aspects of thepresent invention.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of steps that may beinvolved in providing intercom call service according to aspects of thepresent invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A new system is provided for broadband access and applications. Unlessotherwise indicated by the appended claims, the present invention is notlimited to the preferred embodiments described in this section but isapplicable to other integrated multimedia communication systems.

I. Integrated Communication System Overview

Referring to FIG. 1, an exemplary embodiment of a broadband network 1.The broadband network generally provides interconnection between aplurality of customer locations utilizing various interconnectionarchitectures including Internet Protocol (IP) based network, variousexisting systems (legacy systems) such as the public switched telephonenetwork (PSTN), ATM networks, the Internet, signaling networks, as wellas other systems. The broadband network provides versatile intelligentconduits that may carry, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) telephonyor multimedia signals between the customer premises over, for example,the public switched telephone network, Internet, or wirelesscommunication networks.

Again referring to FIG. 1, the broadband network 1 may include one ormore customer premises equipment (CPE) units 102. The customer premiseequipment 102 may be variously configured. In one example, the customerpremise equipment 102 may include one or more local control devices suchas a broadband residential gateway (BRG) 300. Although the broadbandresidential gateway is preferably disposed in a residence for manyaspects of the invention, in exemplary embodiments, it may also bedisposed in a business or other location. The broadband residentialgateway 300 may be variously configured to provide one or moreintegrated communication interfaces to other devices within the customerpremise equipment 102 such as televisions (TV), personal computers (PC),plain old telephone system (POTS) phone(s), video phones, IP enabledphones, and other devices. For example, the broadband residentialgateway 300 may provide one or more telephone port connections (e.g.,plain old telephone system), Ethernet connections, coaxial connections,fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) connections, wireless local areanetwork (LAN) connections, firewire connections, and/or otherconnections to a plurality of devices such as plain old telephones, IPbased phones, television converters, e.g., cable television (CATV) settop devices, televisions, digital televisions, high definitiontelevisions (HDTV), video phones, and other devices. In exemplaryembodiments, the broadband residential gateway 300 may supportcommunications between any of the aforementioned devices inintra-premises calling and/or extra-premises calling. Further, when thebroadband residential gateway 300 is used in a business environment, itcan function as a private branch exchange or key type telephone system.

In FIG. 1, broadband residential gateway 300 is illustrated as a singlephysical device. This configuration is appropriate where centralizationof maintenance and control is desirable. Alternatively, the broadbandresidential gateway 300 may be separated into more than one physicaldevice allowing functionality to be distributed to a plurality ofdifferent physical locations in the customer premise and/or broadbandnetwork 1. However, in many embodiments, having a centralized broadbandresidential gateway 300 located in a single location provides ease ofmaintenance, control, and re-configuration as well as a reduction incost due to shared functionality. For example, the broadband residentialgateway may be configured to provide the intelligence needed to alloweach of the customer premises equipment devices to operate within thebroadband network 1. For example, analog voice may be converted todigital data and packetized for transmission in an appropriate outputprotocol such as an Internet protocol (IP).

In exemplary embodiments, the broadband residential gateway 300 mayfunction to couple devices within the customer premise equipment 102 tothe rest of the broadband network 1 using any suitable broadbandcommunication mechanism. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, thebroadband residential gateway 300 utilizes a hybrid fiber-coaxial plant112 to couple the broadband residential gateway 300 to the rest of thebroadband network 1. The hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 may be preferredin many embodiments over other broadband communication mechanismsbecause of the large number of homes currently connected to cablenetworks, the capacity for shared access, and the ability for asymmetricdata access speeds which allow high quantities of data to be distributedto the various devices in the customer premises equipment 112. Thehybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 may include coaxial cable and/or opticalfiber networks in any suitable combination. The hybrid fiber-coaxialplant 112 may provide an intelligent broadband conduit between thebroadband residential gateway 300 and a gateway such as the head-end hub(HEH) 115. The head-end hub 115 may be variously configured to providevarious services and/or interconnections with the rest of the broadbandnetwork 1. For example, the head-end hub 115 may provide aninterconnection point to gather and aggregate external services (e.g.,off air and satellite video, public switched telephone network voice,multimedia messages, and Internet data) for distribution to and from thehybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112. With respect to telephony and multimediacalls, the head-end hub 115 may function as intelligent conduit forconnection and communication between the hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112and external networks such as an IP network 120 and/or an ATM/framerelay/cell relay network 185.

The broadband network 1 may include any number of interconnectedhead-end hubs 115, IP networks 120, and/or ATM networks 185. Further,the IP network 120 and/or ATM network 185 may be connected to one ormore other networks and devices such as:

(1) external networks including a public switched telephone network(PSTN) 170, an signaling system 7 (SS7) network 170, an Internet 180,and/or a wireless network 144;

(2) various components including one or more private branch exchanges146, terminals 142 including computers and wireless devices, and/or oneor more stand alone broadband residential gateway 300;

(3) one or more administration centers 155;

(4) one or more secure network management data networks 190 such as anetwork operations center (NOC);

(5) one or more billing systems 195 such as OSS; and/or

(6) one or more centralized control centers such as what is referred toas an IP central station 200.

The IP network 120 and/or ATM network 185 may include one or morerouters and/or other devices to route, for example, telephony calls,multimedia calls, signaling messages, administrative messages,programming messages and/or computer data between the various devices inthe broadband network 1 such as the head-end hub 115, the publicswitched telephone network 160, the private branch exchange (PBX) 146,as well as the other devices discussed above. In preferred embodiments,the information traveling in the IP network 120 may be packeted andformatted in accordance with one of the Internet protocols. The IPnetwork 120 may also include gateways to interface with the variousother networks and/or devices. For example, the gateways may bedistributed at the edge of the IP network where the IP networkinterfaces with one of the other devices or networks. Alternatively, thegateways interfacing the IP central station 200 to, for example, theInternet 180, public switched telephone network (PSTN) 160, signalingsystem 7 (SS7) 170, wireless networks 144, ATM/frame/cell relay networks185 may be provided in the IP central station 200, or in both the IPnetwork 120 and the IP central station 200, and/or partially distributedbetween the IP network 120 and the IP central station 200. Where thegateways are separated by an IP network 200, an appropriate transportprotocol may be utilized to logically connect the IP central station 200to the particular gateway.

The IP central station(s) 200 may be connected to, for example, one ormore IP networks 120, ATM networks 185, secure management data networks190, and/or administration centers 155. The IP central station 200 maybe variously configured to include one or more servers and/or one ormore gateways. In exemplary embodiments, the servers and gatewaysprovide the necessary intelligence and traffic management capabilitiesto enable information, e.g., IP telephony signals, to travel through thebroadband network 1. For example, the IP central station 200 may beconfigured to manage voice information transfer from the public switchedtelephone network 160, through the IP network 120, and into and out ofone or more devices such as those connected to a broadband residentialgateway 300. The IP central station may be configured to store variouscontrol and system information such as location, address, and/orconfigurations of one or more broadband residential gateways 300, aswell as other routing and call set-up information.

In exemplary embodiments, one or more administration centers 155 may beconnected to the IP network 120 and provide billing and local directorynumber portability administration. The local number portability may behandled by one or more Local Service Management System (LSMS) which maybe included in the administration center 155 and/or in the IP centralstation 200. Further, the Secure Management Data Network 190 may alsoinclude a mechanism for transferring various information such asbilling, call tracking, and/or customer service provisioning. Variousexisting systems may be utilized to provide this information such asexisting billing systems (OSS) 195 and/or one or more network operationscenter (NOC). The network operations centers may be included in theadministration center 155, the IP central station 200, and/or thebilling system 195. The network operations center (NOC) may be variouslyconfigured to include a translation server to allow communications withthe various disparate entities (e.g., legacy systems) in the broadbandnetwork 1.

The IP network 120 and/or the ATM network 185 illustrated in FIG. 1 mayinclude one or a plurality of sub-networks. Each of the sub-networks mayinclude its own IP central station 200 in a distributed configuration,with certain routing data replicated across all IP central stations oreach sub-network may be connected to a single centralized IP centralstation 200. Where the IP network 120 includes one or more sub-networks,each sub-network may be connected to multiple head-end hubs 115.Further, each head-end hub 115 may be connected to multiple hybridfiber-coaxial plants 112, and each hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 may beconnected to multiple pieces of customer premises equipment 102 and/orbroadband residential gateways 300. The IP network 120 provides aninterconnected broadband network which may be utilized to transport androute packetized information to and from diverse geographic locationsand may be used on a national or international basis. Further, the IPnetwork 120 and/or ATM network 185 may utilize private networkfacilities and/or may be provisioned over a shared network such as theInternet.

The IP central station 200 may be configured to provide connectivity forthe broadband residential gateway 300 to the Internet 180 (e.g., WorldWide Web (www)), as well as connectivity to other external networks suchas public switched telephone network 160 and signaling system 7 (SS7)170 for end-to-end voice, multimedia, and data applications, for examplevoice over IP telephony. IP packets traveling through the IP networkprovide for priority so that, for example, voice packets are givenpriority over data packets to maintain certain VoIP telephony QoSrequirements and a leased line concept for packet traffic which may havean even higher priority. However, the system is sufficiently flexible sothat the priority can be dynamically altered according to customerpreferences, variable billing rates, traffic patterns, and/orcongestion.

A. Internet Protocol Central Station

Referring to FIG. 2, the IP central station 200 may be variouslyconfigured. In preferred embodiments, it may be configured to ensureseamless integration of IP based communication system including the IPnetwork 120 with the public switched telephone network 160, signalingsystem 7 (SS7) network 170, and the Internet 180 so that packetizeddata, for example, voice calls and information data, is properlytransferred between the broadband residential gateway 300, the publicswitched telephone network 160 and/or the Internet 180. In oneembodiment, the hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112, head-end hub 115, and IPnetwork 120, provide a virtual signaling conduit for packetized voiceand data which may, with the coordination of the IP central station 200,be provided in the appropriate format between the broadband residentialgateway 300 and the public switched telephone network 160 and/orInternet 180.

Again referring now to FIG. 2, the IP central station 200 may include acentral router 200, for example, a gigabit switch, which may be utilizedto interconnect various servers and gateways contained in the IP centralstation 200. The central router 210 provides for example Ethernetswitching and aggregate traffic between servers, gateways and the IPnetwork 120 and/or ATM network 185 backbone. In one exemplaryembodiment, the central router 210 provides high-speed, non-blocking IPand IP multicast Layer 3 switching and routing. The IP central station200 may include one or more of the following servers: the least costserver (LCS) 255, the time of day (TOD) server 212, the dynamic hostcontrol protocol (DHCP) server, the trivial file transfer protocol(TFTP) server, and the domain name service (DNS) server 214, the systemmanagement (SM) server 216, the call manager (CM) server 218, theannouncement server (AS) 220, the multimedia server (MS) 222, and/or theconference server (CS) 224. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the servers may beseparate servers, for example the call manager server 218, or may beincorporated into a single server. In the exemplary embodiment, thedynamic host control protocol server 131, trivial file transfer protocolserver 132, and the domain name service server 214 are each incorporatedin a single server facility. Each server in the IP central station 200may include computer(s), storage device(s), and specialized software forimplementing particular predefined functions associated with eachserver. In this manner, the servers in the IP central station may beprovisioned as a main server and one or more back-up servers to provideredundant processing capabilities. Similarly, the router may beimplemented as a main router and a back-up router with similar routingfunctionality.

The IP central station 200 may also include, for example, one or more ofthe following gateways: a element management gateway (EMG) 238, anaccounting gateway (AG) 240, an Internet (Boarder) gateway (IG) 236, asignaling system 7 (SS7)) gateway (SG) 234, a voice gateway (VG) 232,and/or a multimedia gateway (MG) 230. The IP central station 200 mayutilize one or more of these gateways to provide centralized systemintelligence and control of voice and/or data IP packets.

In exemplary embodiments, the dynamic host control protocol server anddomain name service server 214 may operate to dynamically assign IPaddresses devices in the customer premise equipment 102. Where a dynamicIP assignment scheme is used, the customer premises equipment may beprovided with one or a plurality of dynamic IP assignment when activatedinitially, and/or at the initiation of each active secession. Where anIP address is assigned when the device is initially activated, it may bedesirable to assign a single IP address to a single broadbandresidential gateway and assign a port address to devices connected tothe broadband residential gateway 300. In other embodiments, anindividual IP address may be assigned to each device coupled to thebroadband residential gateway 300. For example, the broadbandresidential gateway may include and/or be coupled to one or more cablemodems, IP phones, plain old telephone system phones, computers,wireless devices, CATV converters, video phones, and/or other deviceswhich each may be assigned a unique static and/or dynamic IP addressand/or a port of a one of these IP addresses. The particular protocolfor allocating IP addresses and/or ports may be specified usingprotocols defined in the dynamic host control protocol server 214. Inexemplary embodiments, the dynamic host control protocol and DN server214 may be configured to assign available IP addresses from addresspools based, for example, on the identity or type of requesting device,the amount of use expected for the requesting device, and/or predefinedassignment protocols defined in the dynamic host control protocol and DNserver 214. In centralized embodiments, it may be desirable to configurethe call manager (CM) 218 to provide sufficient information such thatthe domain name service server 214 can distinguish between static IPdevices, dynamic IP devices, registered devices, unregistered devices,and registered devices that have been assigned to a particular class ofservice e.g., data vs. telephony, un-provisioned, vs. provisioned, etc.

The trivial file transfer protocol (TFTP) server 214 may be configuredto transfer certain information to/from one or more broadbandresidential gateways 300. In exemplary embodiments, the trivial filetransfer protocol server provides Data Over Cable Service InterfaceSpecifications (DOCSIS) configuration information containing QoSparameters and other information required for the broadband residentialgateway 300 to operate optimally.

The time-of-day (TOD) server 212 may include a suitable facility formaintaining a real time clock such as an RFC868-compliant time server.In exemplary embodiments, the time-of-day server 212 provides systemmessages and/or responses to system inquiries containing a coordinatedtime, e.g., universal coordinated time (UCT). The universal coordinatedtime may be used by any of the servers and/or devices in the broadbandnetwork 1. For example, the broadband residential gateway 300 may usethe universal coordinated time to calculate the local time fortime-stamping error logs.

The system management (SM) server 216 may include responsibility for theoverall operational state and functioning of components the broadbandnetwork 1, either alone, or in combination with other system managementservers 216. The system management (SM) server 216 may be variouslyconfigured to provide monitoring and administrative functions fordevices within the broadband network 1. For example, the systemmanagement server 216 may be configured to provide management of variousdatabase functions, memory buffer functions, and software utilityfunctions within the broadband network 1. Software management includes,for example, version control, generic control, and/or module control.

The least cost server (LCS) 255 may be variously configured to enablethe system to determine the least cost routing of telephone and datatransmission throughout the network. The least cost server 255 may alsoprovide one or more broadband residential gateway users capability toselect between, for example, cost and Quality of Service (QoS).

The announcement service (AS) server 220 may be variously configured. Inexemplary embodiments, it may store and send announcements to specifieddestinations and/or all destinations based on instructions received by,for example, the call manager (CM) server 218. The announcement server220 receives, for example, Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP) orlater signaling (e.g., H.GCP—an ITU standard Gateway Control Protocol)control messages from the call manager 218, and sends announcements toone or more voice gateways (VG) 232 and/or the one or more broadbandresidential gateway 300 (e.g., using Real Time Protocol (RTP) packets).The announcement server 220 may send an announcement once, apredetermined number of times, or in a continuous loop. The announcementserver 220 may detect when a phone or other device has been takenoff-hook and play an advertisement or other announcement to the user.Where a user has signed-up for an advertising plan whereby phone ratesare reduced in return for advertising revenue generated by theadvertisements, the announcement server 220 may be utilized to track thenumber of individuals with a particular income, age, or other profilewhich hear the advertisement. The announcement server 220 may respond torequests from individual system devices such as one of the broadbandresidential gateways 300 and/or under control of, for example, the callmanager 218. Where the announcement server is under control of the callmanager 218, the call manager may be configured to control variousoperating parameters of the announcement server. For example, the callmanager 218 may request that certain announcements are sent once, aspecified number of times, or in a continuous loop.

In still further embodiments, announcements may be generated elsewherein the broadband network 1, stored as files, and distributed to one ormore announcement servers via a file transfer protocol or resource suchas the trivial file server 214 using one or more file transferprotocols. In many embodiments, it is desirable to store announcementsin an appropriate encoding format (e.g., G.711 or G.729) within theAnnouncement Server. The announcement may have an audio component and/ora audio/video component. The audio/video component may be stored using acombination of an encoding format (e.g., G.711) and/or a standard fileformat such as wave (WAV), MPEG, and other suitable formats.

In one exemplary method of operation, a user picks up a telephone whichsends a signal to the call manager 218. Subsequently, the call manager218 may establish a connection to the announcement server 220 and playone or more pre-recorded and/or predetermined announcement (hypertextand/or audio). Signaling tones such as a busy signal may be played bythe broadband residential gateway 300 or the call manager 218, butSpecial Information Tones (SIT) and/or messages may also be included aspart of an announcement file. In this way, the user experience isenhanced such that the user receives a busy message and/or hypertextannouncement providing one of several options for contacting the calledparty. The announcement server 220 may have information entered by auser using, for example, a broadband residential gateway to provideadditional information to the called party. The additional informationmay include the ability to leave a message, type-in a chat note, pagethe called party, barge-in on the call, and/or other user or systemdefined call handling capabilities.

The announcement server 220 may also be programmed with various systemmessages such as an announcement indicating that a number dialed isincorrect or that the call did not go through as dialed, that the linesare busy, that all lines between two countries are currently busy, thatthe called party has changed numbers, that the called parties phone hasbeen disconnected, that one or more system errors have occurred, and/orother announcement messages.

The call manager (CM) 218 may be variously configured. In exemplaryembodiments, the call manager 218 provides a centralized call controlcenter for supporting call set-up and tear-down in the broadband network1. The call manager 218 may be configured to include trunk and lineinformation maintenance, call state maintenance for the duration of acall, and/or user service features execution. The call manager 218 mayalso provide for call processing functions such as a standardized callmodel for processing the various voice connections such as voice over IPcalls. In exemplary embodiments, a standardized “open,” call model maybe utilized which supports standardized application programminginterfaces (APIs) to provide transport services and other user functionssuch as calling cards. An open application programming interface andcall set-up interface in the call manager will enable third partyapplications to be loaded into the call manager 218 and broadbandresidential gateway 300. This will facilitate the development of thirdparty applications for enhancing the functionality of components in thebroadband network 1. For example, third parties and other equipmentvendors may manufacture various broadband residential gateways 300 foruse in the broadband network 1 by writing applications to support theopen call model of the call manager 218. The call manager 218 and/orbroadband residential gateway 300 may also be configured to executeand/or accept commands form a standardized scripting language which maygenerate instructions for the call manager 218 and/or broadbandresidential gateway 300 to execute various functions. The scriptingfunctionality may include the ability to execute an entire call modelincluding interfaces to the signaling system 7 (SS7) 170, publicswitched telephone network 160, IP network 120, ATM/frame/cell relaynetwork 185, and/or other functions within, for example, IP centralstation 200 such as the multimedia server 222, announcement server 220,system management server 216, conference server 224, time of day server212, least cost server 255, and/or domain name server 214.

The call manager 218 may also be configured to maintain the call statesfor each call it handles (e.g., a voice over IP call) and respond tosystem events created by, for example, the multimedia gateway controlprotocol (MGCP) messages and/or integrated services digital network userpart (ISUP) messages for signaling system 7 (SS7) protocol that mayoccur during the processing of a call. Exemplary events handled by thecall manager 218 include call state changes, call feature changes/callfeature triggering events, changes in the status of lines and trunks,and/or error conditions. Further, the call manager 218 may interact withdevices connected to a single circuit on the public switched telephonenetwork 160 and/or a device connected to a port of the broadbandresidential gateway 300. In this manner, new devices may be added to theinfrastructure and operate using the open call model contained in thecall manager 218.

The call manager 218 may also include storage for subscriber and networkconfiguration, a cache server for faster access to frequently used data,a routing engine for selecting an appropriate routing algorithm (e.g.,least cost routing), and/or a service broker which provides the data andlogic for specific services. In addition, the call manager 218 mayinclude an authentication (AC) server 245 that provides authenticationof various devices, objects, packets and users in the integratedmultimedia system. In this manner, a user may verify the identity of thecalling or called party.

The call manager 218 may interact with the signaling gateway (SG) 234,the accounting gateway (AG) 240, the element management gateway (EMG)238, the voice gateway (VG) 232, and the multimedia gateway (MG) 230using any suitable protocol such as IP and an interconnection mechanismsuch as the central router 210. In one preferred embodiment, the callmanager 218 may be configured to utilize signaling messages such as: a)ISUP messages over Common Object Broker Architecture (COBRA) interfaceto and/or from signaling gateway 234, b) MGCP, SIP—simple internetprotocol, H.GCP, and/or other suitable control messages to and/or fromthe announcement server 220, c) call event records in modified Radiusformat to the accounting gateway 240, d) Radius (or Enhanced Radius orcompatible protocol) control messages to and/or from the voice gateway232 and/or the broadband residential gateways 300, and e) signalingnetwork management protocol (SNMP) messages to and/or from the elementmanagement gateway 238.

The call manager 218 may incorporate one or more databases. For example,the call manager 218 may include database information such as (1) aresources database that provides an identification of what resources areconnected to the broadband network 1 and their current state; (2) atrunk/gateway database that indicates which gateway serves what circuitsin a trunk; (3) a customer database which indicates whether a call isauthorized, identifies what services a line supports and determineswhether a telephone number is on or off the integrated IP communicationnetwork; (4) a numbering plan/least cost routing database which providesrouting information that enables the IP central station 200 to choosethe correct trunk as a function of the call number; and (5) a localnumber portability (LNP) database that indicates the North AmericanNumbering Plan (NANP) and associated prefixes which are open forassociation with the number portability service; and (6) an address ofthe service control point (SCP) towards which requests for translatingthese local portability numbers should be routed.

In exemplary embodiments, the broadband network 1 includes equipmentcompatible with the COBRA standard. COBRA may be utilized to allowapplications from a plurality of vendors to operate with each other. TheCOBRA standard allows a company, such as AT&T, to build its networkusing multi-vendor equipment and yet ensure seamless integration andoperation. Some of the major areas covered by COBRA v.2.2 includes:Inter-ORB Bridge Support, General Inter-ORB Protocol (GIOP) support,Internet Inter-ORB Protocol (IIOP) support, and Environment SpecificInter-ORB Protocol (ESIOP) support. The call manager 218 may integratethese protocols to facilitate call set-up with diverse equipment. Thisis advantageous in that equipment from a plurality of vendors mayinteroperate over the broadband network 1 without modification.

The multimedia server (MS) 222 may be variously configured. For example,one or more multimedia servers may provide support for multimediamessaging service and/or the overall management of multimedia voice andmail messages transmitted across the broadband network 1. The multimediaserver may be configured to support e-mail (e.g., html) messages, voicemail (audio) messages, and/or video mail (audio and video) messages. Themultimedia messages may include standard pre-configured system messages,advertising messages, and/or user defined messages. In either event,where the messages are stored in a centralized location, the multimediaserver may provide such storage. Where the multimedia server 222provides storage for the multimedia messages, a database may be utilizedfor indexing, storage, and retrieval of such messages. In exemplarysystems, the user may access predetermined ones of these messages. Themultimedia server 222 may utilize IP as a method of communicating withother devices across the broadband network 1.

The conference server (CS) 224 may be configured to provide formultiparty conference calls using, for example, IP voice packets duringan IP telephony or multimedia session call. The conference server 224may include specialized software that runs on a computing platformhaving associated multiplexing and demultiplexing capability forsegregating and aggregating user information packets. For example, theconference server may log several calls into a conference session. Wheninformation packets are sent from one or more phones, they areaggregated and sent to the other phones on the conference call. Theconference server 224 may use any suitable communication protocol suchas H.GCP or SIP. The conference server 224 may function to aggregateuser information from two or more users onto a single call path. Theconference server 224 may include one or more “call-in numbers” and becontrolled from any location, e.g., a centralized operator locationand/or one or more broadband residential gateways 300. It may bedesirable to have the conference server 224 configured such that somecallers simply monitor the call without voice interruption while othercallers have both voice transmit and receive capabilities. Where acaller is not given the privileges associated with active participationin the call, voice packets from these users are discarded. For example,a CEO may have a conference call with a plurality of financial advisorsand invite the press to listen on the call without interruptioncapabilities.

The gateways in the IP central station 200 may be configured to providetranslation of signals to and/or from the various servers in the IPcentral station 200, the IP network 120, the public switched telephonenetwork 160, the signaling system 7 (SS7) network 170, the Internet 180,and/or the secured management data (SMD) network 190. The gatewaystypically support one or more of the following group of functions: callprocessing; signaling system 7 (SS7) connectivity; billing support;OAM&P support; connection to public switched telephone network; controlCoS/QoS parameters; and enhanced services.

The voice gateway (VG) 232 may be connected to the public switchedtelephone network 160 and operate to convert between IP based voicepackets and standard public switched telephone network 160 voicetraffic. Voice gateway 232 may be configured as multi-frequency (MF) orISUP gateways on a per-T1 basis. Where multi-frequency (MF) trunks areused, one embodiment utilizes signaling between the call manager 218 andthe voice gateway 232 using MGCP, SIP, H.GCP and/or other compatibleprotocol. Multi-frequency trunks may be compatible with Feature Group D(FGD), Operator Service (OS) Signaling protocol and/or TerminationProtocol (TP).

The IP central station 200 may be variously connected to the publicswitched telephone network. For example, the IP central station 200 maybe connected directly to the public switched telephone network using,for example a bearer channel (e.g., a T1 or T3 carrier) and/orinterconnected using one or more networks such as an IP network and/orATM/frame/cell relay network 185. Where a T1 network is utilized, it maybe desirable to utilize one or more of ISUP or MF, FGD, and OS tointerconnect a service bureau in the public switched telephone network160. Alternatively, the service bureau in the public switched telephonenetwork 160 may be interconnected using an alternative networkarrangement such as an IP network 120 and/or a ATM/frame/cell relaynetwork 185. The service bureau may coordinate with the IP centralstation 200 in providing operator services, directory services andprovisioning for 311, 611, and 711 services. Emergency 911 services maybe routed to an E911 tandem switch that has the appropriate databasesand interfaces with a Public Safety Answering Position (PSAP). Emergency911 services may be coordinated by the call manager 218 and/or publicswitched telephone network based service bureau.

Voice gateway 232 may be router-based and include one or more voicefeature cards and/or DSP Module cards to perform voice processing. Thevoice gateway 232 may optionally include host processors, LAN/WAN ports,Ethernet ports, T1 or E1 telephony interface cards, Voice Feature Cardswith DSP Modules providing voice compression transcoding (G.711 andG.729), carrier-quality echo cancellation with 8 ms-32 ms tail length, ade-jitter buffer which adapts to delay variations in the network inorder to minimize the delay, packet loss concealment that generatesconcealment frames for lost packets using information from previouslyreceived data, and/or tone detection and generation. This functiondetects Multi-Frequency (MF) tones and generates MF and call processingtones (e.g. dial tone, call-waiting tone etc.).

In exemplary embodiments, the voice gateway 232 may include T1/E1interfaces with internal Channel Service Units (CSUs). It may also bedesirable to configure the voice gateway 232 such that ISUP, MF andCentralized Attendant Services (CAS) trunks are supported with aconfiguration done on a per T1 basis. Additionally, multi-frequencytones and Centralized Attendant Services may utilize a “robbed bits”communication scheme where bits are “robbed” from sub-frames to transmitin-band signaling. The multi-frequency tones may be converted to and/orfrom, for example, simple gateway control protocol (SGCP) signalrequests and events by the voice gateway 232. For example,multi-frequency tones and/or lower level signaling and timing functionsmay be translated to and/or from any of the following indications:simple gateway control protocol Notify functions, simple gateway controlprotocol Notification Requests, Connection requests, Modify Connectionrequests, off-hook and/or on-hook indications.

An Ethernet interface with a RJ-45 connector may be used to connect thevoice gateway 232 to the central router 210 (e.g., Gigabit Switch orHigh Speed Router (HSR)). The multimedia gateway control protocol may beused as the interface between the voice gateway 232 and the call manager218. For example, call control, signaling, and multimedia data stream,real time protocol (RTP) connections, IP addresses, UDP ports, codecchoice etc, may be configured in any suitable manner such as by using amultimedia gateway control protocol. In exemplary embodiments, audiostreams may be passed directly between customer premises equipment 102using real time protocol connections over, for example, a user datagramprotocol (UDP). Thus, the multimedia gateway control protocol may beutilized to request the voice gateway 232 to initiate, cancel, and/orotherwise modify connections in order to set up and tear down RTP mediastreams. A similar procedure may also be utilized to request continuitytests and results.

In exemplary embodiments, it may be desirable to adapt the IP network tocarry signaling system 7 (SS7) Transaction Capabilities Application Part(TCAP) messages over the IP network 120 and/or the ATM/frame/cell relaynetwork 185. The transport of signaling system 7 (SS7) transactioncapabilities application part (TCAP) messages over the packet networksallows signaling operations to be supported by multiple connections tothe same host, multiple host connections, and distributed processing ofcall set-up information using, for example, multiple call managers 218in the broadband network 1.

Thus, the IP network 120 and/or ATM/frame/cell relay network may beutilized to interconnect a plurality of ESS switches to transportsignaling information, voice, and/or data. In embodiments where thesignaling gateway (SG) 234 is configured to support signaling system 7(SS7) signaling transport using transaction capabilities applicationpart (TCAP) messages, it may be desirable to include a translator forconverting between multimedia gateway control protocol (MGCP) messagesand transaction capabilities application part (TCAP) messages and/orISDN User Part (ISUP) messages.

The point where ISUP and TCAP messages are terminated at a signalingsystem 7 (SS7) signaling gateway is defined as a Service Switching Point(SSP) to the signaling system 7 (SS7) network 170. The call manager 218may be configured with a standardized Application Programming Interface(API) to allow interaction with the signaling system 7 (SS7) by, forexample, sending and/or receiving ISUP and TCAP messages from a serviceswitching point (SSP). Full class 5 signaling system 7 (SS7)functionality may be included in the call manager 218 including theability to provide all of the information necessary for billing asdefined in the GR-246-Bellcore standard. The signaling gateway 234 maybe arranged to perform: signaling system 7 (SS7) message handling(message discrimination, message distribution, and message routing);signaling link management (e.g., link activation, deactivation);signaling route management (managing Point Code [PC] route status basedon route received management messages such as Transfer Prohibited,Transfer Allowed, Transfer Restricted, etc.); and signaling trafficmanagement (diversion of traffic based on unavailability, availability,restriction of signaling link, route, and Point Code.) The signalingsystem 7 (SS7) architecture supports the necessary redundancy componentscheme for system reliability and availability during scheduledmaintenance and/or software/hardware upgrades. The signaling gateway 234may be configured to directly provide for lower level signaling system 7(SS7) processing.

In exemplary embodiments, the signaling gateway 234 interacts with thecall manager 218 using an appropriate open interface (e.g., CommonObject Request Broker Architecture (COBRA)). In these embodiments, itmay be desirable for translation software in the signaling gateway 234to add Message Transfer Part (MTP) layer information to the ISUP and/orTCAP data to create a complete signaling system 7 (SS7) message. Thecomplete signaling system 7 message may then be sent to the SignalingTransfer Point (STP) in the external signaling system 7 (SS7) network170. Conversely, the signaling gateway 234 may be configured to removeISUP or TCAP application layer data from the signaling system 7 (SS7)messages received from the STP prior to converting the information to anappropriate open interface (e.g., COBRA) and forwarding the informationto the call manager 218 via the central router 210.

The accounting gateway (AG) 240 may be configured to receive messagesrepresenting events from the call manager 218 via a suitable transportmechanism such as the central router 210. Typically, two messages arereceived for each call, the first when the call is established, andsecond when the call terminates. In the case of unsuccessful calls, onlythe failure message will be logged. The messages provide details aboutthe calling and called parties, the timing of the call set-up, theduration and the quality of the call. Accounting gateway 240 may beduplicated using a redundant computer, with each gateway havingdual-mirrored disks. The accounting gateway 240 stores usage records andmay then distribute them to linked destinations (e.g., billing centers)for processing. Billing centers typically include bill processors thatreceive accounting information from the accounting gateway 240 andgenerate appropriate on-line or paper billing to customers. Theaccounting gateway may be configured to accommodate multiple days worthof accounting records such as the records for one day, two days, threedays, four days, a week, or a month. The period in which the data isretained in the accounting gateway may be dependent on business needs,hardware restrictions, and/or the billing cycle. For example, as the endof the billing cycle nears, it may be desirable to shorten the periodthe accounting gateway holds the data such that calls placed the day thebills are printed are included on the bills. Further, the accountinggateway may both retain and forward data to the billing centers. In thismanner, if the equipment at the billing center fails, the accountinggateway 240 may serve as a backup. Similarly, the billing center may actas a backup where the accounting gateway 240 fails.

An Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) format is typically used bycircuit-switching systems, packet-switching systems, and other networkelements to provide billing usage measurements data (e.g., the Bellcore®Automatic Message Accounting Format (BAF)). This data may be utilizedeither to permit charging the customer for use of network resources orto permit charging other carriers (e.g., InterExchange Carrier (IEC) andother Local Exchange Carrier (LEC)) for assistance in placing callconnections. The accounting gateway 240 may be configured to convertthis information into an Automatic Message Accounting Format (AMA)Format (e.g., BAF) records and send these records to the externalbilling systems using, for example, a TFTP (trivial file transferprotocol). Time-stamp accuracy is typically based on the accuracy of thecall manager 218 clock which may be derived from the TOD 212 server. Tocreate appropriate AMA records, the event information produced by thecall manager 218 preferably has appropriate information for thetelephone service specified such as phone number of the calling party(customer), phone number of the called party (customer), time of call,duration of the phone call, and use of any discretionary features.Different AMA structures may be generated between On-Net calls (definedas within a network service provider IP network 120) vs. Off-Net calls(defined as outside of service provider IP network—e.g. public switchedtelephone network) for billing purposes.

The element management gateway (EMG) 238 may provide system managementfunctionality that includes, for example: a) status and performancemonitoring for the Operation Administration, Maintenance, andProvisioning center, to gauge the ongoing operation of applications; b)extensive information exchange with a network operations centerresponsible for ongoing maintenance of one or more applications; c)customizable operations interface to allow the network operations centerto view only information required, thus reducing the time spentfiltering information; d) centralize distributed applicationconfiguration allowing for the centralized configuration of objectsresiding on a plurality machines; e) proactive network managementcapabilities to remove the need for constant operator interventionmaking the day-to-day operations more efficient; and/or f) intelligentdisplay of status information to separate critical issues fromlow-priority problems allowing the operation center to assign resourcesto the right problems at the right time.

The multimedia gateway (MG) 230 may be configured to connect to thepublic switched telephone network 160 and to convert IP based multimediapackets into standard public switched telephone network 160 traffic. Themultimedia gateway 230 may include an intelligent trunking interfacethat communicates with the call manager 218 for automatic trunk sizingand allocation between the IP network 120 and the public switchedtelephone network 160. For example, when an system user at the customerpremises is using a PC and/or a multimedia phone to communicate with atraditional public switched telephone network 160 user, thecommunication session involves the transmission of video and audio data.The bandwidth that is required for this type of communication is muchgreater than that required for a PSTN-to-PSTN voice call or anIP-to-PSTN voice call. The multimedia gateway 230, as the interfacebetween two systems, may negotiate a larger bandwidth to facilitate thecall if the called party is also video enabled. This bandwidthnegotiation process typically occurs with a 5ESS or a Local DigitalSwitch within the public switched telephone network 160. Typically, amultimedia call, including live video, audio and data, will requirebandwidth ranging from 56K to 1.544 Mbps. However, as the number ofusers sharing the same link grows, the quality of the transmissiondeteriorates significantly. The multimedia gateway 230 must be able tomonitor bandwidth usage and make appropriate adjustments so as tomaintain an acceptable quality of service. Further, it may be desirablefor the call manager 218 and the multimedia gateway 230 to communicatebetween themselves and/or the customer premises equipment 102 todetermine whether the user has authorized the additional bandwidth andhence expense of the call. For example, even where a called and/orcalling party is video enabled, it may nonetheless refuse to authorizepayment for the increased bandwidth necessary for video.

The Internet gateway (IG) 236 may be connected to the Internet (e.g.,World Wide Web (www)) and provide a means for IP based data packets tobe routed between the IP network 120 and the Internet 180.Alternatively, IP based voice packets may be routed via the Internet180. In exemplary embodiments, the Internet gateway 236 routes data-onlypackets which share the same priority level with other lower priority,non-real-time traffic consistent with computer data communicationspresently experienced with the Internet 180. Consequently, low priorityand low latency data traffic on the IP network 120 utilize the Internetgateway 236 to communicate with other IP data networks such as the www.Voice packets may be routed through another network such as theATM/frame/cell relay network 185, a private IP network 120, and/or thepublic switched telephone network 160 where committed information ratesmay be easily obtained.

In exemplary embodiments, the broadband network 1 includes theinterfaces which enable connections to existing Operation, Maintenanceand Provisioning (OAM&P) 195 systems that support, billing, accounting,provisioning and/or configuration management functions. A SecuredManagement Data (SMD) Network 190 may be utilized to connect the OAM&P195 to the accounting gateway 240 and element management gateway 238.The Secure Management Data network 190 may include a Network ServiceDivision's NSD Net The Secure Management Data network 190 helps ensurethat only secure communication can occur between the IP central station200 and the OAM&P 195. This eliminates one potential means of tamperingwith the billing and provisioning functions in the OAM&P. The billingsystems (OSS) 195 may include the Network Operations Center (NOC). TheNOC may include a translation server which includes functions forallowing communications and control of diverse networks.

B. Broadband Residential Gateway (BRG)

Referring to FIG. 3, a preferred embodiment for a broadband residentialgateway (BRG) 300 will now be described and explained. The broadbandresidential gateway 300 may be configured as the interface unit betweenthe remainder of the customer premise equipment 102 devices and theexternal network. The broadband residential gateway 300 may be connectedto the remainder of the broadband network 1 using any suitable mechanismsuch as a gateway directly into an IP network and/or a cable connection.In the most preferred embodiments, a hybrid fiber-coaxial plantconnection is utilized such as hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) plant 112. Thehybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 allows numerous broadband residentialgateways 300 to be included on an existing hybrid fiber-coaxial plant112 without modification to the plants infrastructure.

The broadband residential gateway 300 may be variously configured to,for example, provide high-speed cable modem capabilities to interconnectone or more associated PCs with each other and with the remainder of thebroadband network 1, provide functionality to one or more TVs (using,for example, either an integrated or separate decoder functionality,e.g., set top box 350), one or more telephone connections such as plainold telephone service (POTS) phones and/or digital telephones, displays,wireless interfaces, voice processing, remote control interface, displayinterface, and/or administrative functions. In exemplary embodiments,the broadband residential gateway 300 may a) providing conversionbetween analog voice and IP voice packets, b)multiplexing/demultiplexing streams of IP voice packets, c) supportingmultiplexing/demultiplexing of multiple incoming and outgoing signalsincluding multiple voice, multimedia, data, system administration,and/or TV information signals.

Where the elements of the broadband residential gateway 300 areinterconnected, the interconnection may be provided by one or more databuses, for example, a high speed bus (HSB) 360, processor bus 380,and/or other interconnection system. The high speed bus 360, 380 may beconfigured to provide a flexible conduit for transferring informationbetween the internal hardware, processors and ports. In exemplaryembodiments of the broadband residential gateway 300, the high speed bus360 may include one or more of the following functional units a) auniversal remote control receiver module 365 for receiving wireless(e.g., infrared, and/or RF) signals (e.g., keyboard signals and/orremote control signals) for control of the broadband residential gateway300 and/or any connected devices, b) a display, display driver, touchscreen logic module for driving one or more local and/or remote displaysfor interfacing with the broadband residential gateway 300 and/or one ormore connected devices, c) one or more TV port modules 336 forinterconnecting televisions, set-top devices, and/or other audiovisualdevices to the broadband residential gateway 300, d) one or more dataport modules 334 for connecting/interconnecting data enabled devices(e.g., personal computers, palm top devices, etc.), e) one or moretelephony port modules 332 for interconnecting one or more analog and/ordigital telephones, f) one or more peripheral port modules 342 forinterconnecting one or more peripheral devices such as disk drives, datastorage devices, video cassette recorders, DVD devices, audio devices,video devices (e.g., camcorders, digital cameras, digital videorecorders, stereos, etc.), g) one or more external/internal intercommodules 344 for interconnecting remote intercom and/or securitymonitoring devices, h) one or more wireless interface modules 345 forinterconnecting with various wireless extension devices such as wirelessTVs, cordless and/or wireless telephones, wireless LANs, etc., i) one ormore voice recognition/voice synthesis modules 355 for generating voiceannouncements, voice messages, and voice prompts and for recognizingvoice generated commands and data, j) set-top box module 350 forperforming the functions associated with a set-top box locally and/orfor communicating with one or more remotely coupled set-top boxes, k)memory 322 (e.g., DRAM, RAM, flash, and/or other memory) for storinginformation and operating data within the broadband residential gateway300,1) transceiver 302 for communicating with one or more externalbroadband networks m) operating program store 330 (e.g., ROM, flash,etc.) for storing at least portions of the operating programs for thebroadband residential gateway 300 and/or interconnected devices, n)security processor, smart card and/or credit card interface module 340for providing secure processing functions and/or credit card/smart cardtransaction functions, and/or o) distributed processing controller 306which may be a microprocessor and/or one or more interconnecteddistributed processing modules for controlling the broadband residentialgateway 300. Where the distributed processing controller 306 includesone or more distributed processing modules, the modules may include atelephony processing module (P1) 308, data processing module (P23) 310,video processing module (P3) 312, auxiliary processing module (P4) 314,IP processing module (P5) 316, and/or an operations administrationmaintenance and provisioning processing module (P6) 318 interconnectedthrough one or more busses such as processor bus 380. The processor bus380 and/or high speed bus 360 may include any suitable interconnect busincluding intelligent bus configurations incorporating smart bufferlogic (not shown in FIG. 3) to facilitate data transfer betweeninterconnected processors and/or modules. The various modules and/orprocessing components of the broadband residential gateway 300 may bepowered by, for example, a power supply unit (not shown). Each of theindividual modules of the broadband residential gateway will now bedescribed in more detail.

The transceiver 302 may include circuits for converting digital signalsto and from RF signals suitable for transmission across a broadbandnetwork such as the hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112. The transceiver 302may include one or more input/output ports such as a cable interface(e.g., an F connector cable connection) and/or a fiber optic interfaceconnected to a communication media (e.g., hybrid fiber-coaxial Plant112). The transceiver 302 may be compatible with the DOCSIS 1.0 or laterspecifications. For signaling purposes, the broadband residentialgateway 300 may be compatible with the Media Gateway Control Protocol(MGCP) or other compatible signaling protocol (e.g., SIP or H.GCP) tosupport telephony applications. The transceiver 302 may serve as amodem, a translator and/or a multiplexor/demultiplexor. Data receivedfrom the network may be de-multiplexed and placed on the data bus fordispatch to the appropriate peripherals and/or ports. Data from thevarious ports and peripherals may be multiplexed together fordistribution over one or more broadband networks (e.g., the hybridfiber-coaxial (HFC) plant 112). Where a hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112is utilized, the data may be multiplexed onto various frequency bands ofthe hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 in a continuous data stream(s) and/orpacketized data stream(s). To facilitate data transfer for variousnetworks, the transceiver 302 may be include one or more registers fordata queuing and/or IP tunneling of data packets across the broadbandnetwork.

Although the illustration of a display, display drivers, and touchscreen logic device 338 suggests that the a display is integral to thebroadband residential gateway 300, alternative embodiments of thebroadband residential gateway 300 may provide a user interface via theTV screen, PC screen, video telephone, and/or other display device inaddition to, or in lieu of, a display integral to the broadbandresidential gateway 300.

The peripheral ports module 342 may include a plurality of portsproviding connectivity to external peripherals. Exemplary interfacesinclude, PCI, Firewire, USB, DB25, etc. Devices which incorporate one ormore of these interfaces may utilize the broadband residential gateway300 to interconnect to the remainder of the broadband network 1.

The external/internal Intercom Module (IM) 344 may include one or moremicrophones/speakers, voice CODECs, telephony processors, and/orinterface ports. Where an intercom module 344 is utilized, the built-incircuitry may be configured to detect, for example, unused plain oldtelephone system telephone(s) and generates a special intercom tone onthese unused telephones. In this manner, existing plain old telephonesystem telephones, digital phones, and/or other devices may serve as anintercom throughout the residence. The controller 306 (e.g., such as thePI telephony processor 308) may function to command the intercom module344 to determine an appropriate intercom path to select an intercomconnection between various locations. In exemplary embodiments, theCODEC may be configured to convert the analog voice signal into IPpackets for transmission over one or more data ports 334, TV ports 336,display modules 338, telephony ports 332, peripheral ports 342,external/internal intercom ports 344, wireless interface ports 345,and/or set-top boxes 350.

In yet further embodiments, multiple broadband residential gateways 300may be configured through, for example, IP tunneling, to set-up anintercom connection between multiple remote broadband residentialgateways 300. In this manner, an administrative assistant at the officemay be contacted via an intercom connection present at the users home.Thus, one or more individuals disposed at either local and/or remotelocations with diverse types of equipment may communicate as an intercomgroup without the need to communicate via normal dialing procedures.

In addition to intercom services, the intercom module 344 may alsoconfigure intercom services for other telephony services (e.g.,extension transfer, call conferencing, internal caller ID), high speeddata services (e.g., LAN connections), facsimile transmission/reception,e-mail transmission/reception, video conferencing, and/or CATV/HDTV(Cable Television/High Definition Television) using standard industryprotocols such as DOCSIS 1.0 or higher and IP tunneling transmissions.These services are advantageous in that once configured, the user maysimulate a work environment in his home.

Though processing may be accomplished by a single processor performingall functions (e.g., processing controller 306), in the preferredembodiment shown in FIG. 3, the architecture employs a distributedprocessing controller 306, and a plurality of processors P1-P6 308-318.In the distributed processing architecture, each of the plurality ofprocessors P1-P6 may be configured to have a dedicated function toprovide predetermined services or applications. The processors may becoupled together via any suitable mechanism such as the processor bus380 and/or high speed bus (HSB) 360. The first processor P1 308 mayinclude telephony applications such as call set-up, call tear down, andcall functions; the second processor P2 310 may include managementfunctions such as distribution and coordination of data within thevarious devices of the broadband residential gateway 300; the thirdprocessor P3 312 may include video processing functions for configuringcontrol panels, screen displays of attached devices, video conferencecalls, MPEG decoding functions and other video processing functions; thefourth processor P4 314 may include an auxiliary processor for offloading special processing functions such as numeric processing; thefifth processor P5 316 may include interface input/output processing(e.g., text to voice and vise versa) and/or Internet protocol (IP)processing functions for configuring data to communicate with theremainder of the broadband network 1 and/or devices attached to thebroadband residential gateway 300 such as IP telephones or IP enablePCs; and the sixth processor P6 318 may include processing functions forOperation, Maintenance and Provisioning (OAM&P) processing. Each of theabove processors may be an entirely separate processing unit withincluded RAM, ROM, Flash memory, or may share RAM, ROM, and/or Flashmemory. Where shared RAM, ROM, and/or Flash memory is utilized, thememory may be located within the distributed processor controller 306and/or on the processor bus 380. Alternatively, the memory may beintegrated into the operating program store 330 and/or into memory 322.

The Distributed Processing Controller 306 with its associated processors(P1-P6) may be coupled to the various elements of the broadbandresidential gateway 300 so as to enable proper operation of each of theindividual components. For example, the distributed processingcontroller 306 (with any associated processors (P1-P6)) may also coupledto the security processor, smart card/credit card, and interface module340, the peripheral port(s) module 342, and/or the External/InternalIntercom Module 344 for providing control and coordination among devicescoupled to the high speed bus 360.

The display 338 may include, for example, an interactive LED/LCD modulepositioned in a suitable location such as within or attached to thebroadband residential gateway 300. The display 338 may include aninterface to notify, display and receive user inputs and processingstatus. The display 338 may be configured to display variousinformational status such as multimedia mail, called ID, call logs, callin progress and associated information, call waiting information, callconferencing, and/or other call related information. The display 338 mayprovide a display of real time status of the various devices connectedto the broadband residential gateway 300 as well as any currentconnections, calls, and/or data transfers. The display 338 may alsoinclude touch screen capabilities that allow information to be input viaa plurality of interrelated on-screen prompts, on-screen icons, and/or akeypad (e.g., an alphanumeric keyboard). The keypad may be a remotecontrol, numeric keyboard, and/or alphanumeric keyboard.

In one embodiment of the display 338 operation, a user may touch an iconrepresenting a pending voicemail and/or multimedia mail message. Thepanel may be configured to send an electronic signal to the processingcontroller 306 and/or an attached processor such as the telephonyprocessor. On receiving the signal, the P1 telephony processor 308 maybe configured to generate an IP packet via the transceiver 302 acrossportions of the broadband network 1 to the multimedia server 222 in IPcentral station 200. The multimedia server 222 may authenticate therequest by, for example, verifying location of the request and/or theidentity of the requesting party. Where identity of the calling party isbeing verified, the user enter an access password by an audio and/orkeyboard request. Where an audio request is generated, the user mayutilize the external/internal intercom module 344 of the broadbandresidential gateway 300, or via a text message entered into the display338. The user may then enter the appropriate access code via theonscreen soft keypad, microphone, and/or keyboard. Alternatively, themessage could be stored locally in the broadband residential gateways300 memory 322 and depending on whether there is a password lock on thebroadband residential gateway 300, the user may not have to enter apassword to access the message. Where the message is stored locally inthe broadband residential gateways 300 memory 322 rather than IP centralstation, the display 338 simply recalls the message from memory andpresents to the user to provide one-touch instant message retrieval.

In embodiments where the broadband residential gateway 300 supportsmultiple mailboxes, the icons on the LCD/LED may be personalized to showthe identity of the owner of the message. Each user may have a differentpassword to ensure privacy of access. An activity log which tracks pastand present messages and/or archives multimedia messages may bepresented on display 338. The archive may be stored locally, or at aremote location such as IP central. The archive may be utilized by theuser to recall messages which have long since been erased from localstorage but may be retrieved from IP central on tape and/or diskstorage. This is preferably an optional feature for those users who areless security conscious. The multimedia messages need not be displayedonly on display 338. In alternate embodiments, any of the peripheraldevices attached to the broadband residential gateway 300 are capable ofreceiving the multimedia messages.

The memory 322 may be variously configured to include one or morefield-upgradeable card slots for permitting memory expansion. Certainusers may wish to enable higher end applications such as near video ondemand (e.g., pausing of shows via buffering in memory), videoconferencing of multiple users, multi-party conferences, call waitingfor multiple parties, etc. Accordingly, the use of a broadbandresidential gateway 300 allows the user to upgrade memory via insertingadditional cards. Alternatively, the user may use system memory in IPcentral and buffer data remotely.

Operating program store 330 may be configured to receive updates. Thismay be accomplished by having the user replace one or more memory cardsor automatically by the IP central station downloading new operatingcode into one or more residential gateways 300.

As previously indicated, smart buffer logic (SBL) may be coupled to thetelephony port(s) 332, data port(s) 334, TV port(s) 336, peripheralport(s) 342, and/or the distributed processing controller (DPC) 306.Where the smart buffer logic is utilized, it may function to buffer theIP packets for delivery over the communication network such as thehybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112. In addition, the smart buffer logic mayinclude selectable switching and routing algorithms based on servicesand applications associated with each port. Depending on the destinationof the IP traffic, the smart buffer logic may multiplex signal fromvarious devices to effect faster information transfer. The smart bufferlogic may also allow direct memory access between memory 322 and one ormore of the devices and/or ports coupled to the high speed bus 360.

The telephony port(s) 332 may include various interface circuitry (e.g.,analog interface, logic and firmware for interfacing with the Plain OldTelephone (POTs) telephones). Also the telephony port(s) 332 may also beconfigured to include user interface logic, voice processing logic,voice activity detector logic, voice CODECs, and DTMF (dual tonemulti-frequency) tone sensing logic. Echo cancellation and automaticgain control may also be utilized in the telephony port(s) 332circuitry. In one embodiment, RJ-11 connectors for a plurality of lines(e.g., 4) are provided for connection to one or more existing plain oldtelephone system 110 telephone units. However, the broadband residentialgateway 300 may contain any number of telephone connection ports. Inthis manner, any number of existing user phone may connected directly tothe broadband residential gateway 300 without modification.Alternatively, the broadband residential gateway can be configured tosupport, in addition to or as alternative to the plain old telephonesystem telephone units, ISDN telephones and/or other digital phones(e.g., IP telephones) using an appropriate interface.

The data port(s) 334 interface may be variously configured. In oneconfiguration, the data ports include high speed data serviceconnections to, for example, a personal computer (PC) using a LANconnection. For example, the data ports 334 may include an Ethernet802.3 connection compatible with category 5 unshielded twisted pair(UTP) cable and a RJ-45 connector. The data port(s) 334 may include thenecessary interface circuitry for coupling to remote computers.

The TV port(s) 336 may include an interface for conventional television,HDTV and/or CATV services. The TV port(s) 336 typically have one or moreF-connectors used for coaxial cable connection to a TV set(s). The TVports may be configured to connect to a set top box (STB) via theF-connector or directly to a remote television. In embodiments where thesettop box is co-located with the television, the data supplied over theTV ports may be either analog and/or digital information. Where thesettop box is integrated into and/or comprises the broadband residentialgateway 300, the TV ports may be analog or compatible with HDTV signals.

The broadband residential gateway 300 need not necessarily be limited tohome use and is intended to also be utilized in business applications.In some configurations, the broadband residential gateway 300 may servethe same functions and operate as a private branch exchange (PBX). Wheregreater capacity is desired, one or more broadband residential gateways300 may be disposed on a PC card and combined in a PC, rackmount, and/orserver to create an expandable private branch exchange type system thatenables intra-premises calling between telephones connected to varioustelephone connectors on the broadband residential gateway 300.

C. Integrated Broadband IP Based Communication System

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary embodiment of the broadband network 1 shown inFIGS. 1-3, with like components identified with identical numbers. Atthe extremities of the integrated communications system is the customerpremises equipment unit (CPE) 102, e.g., one or more customer premiseequipment 102 at each customer location. The customer premise equipment102 may be configured to include an integrated communication interfacedevice such as the broadband residential gateway 300. Other customerpremise equipment 102 devices such as one or more televisions (TV) 106,personal computers (PC) 108, and telephones 110, etc., may be connectedto the broadband residential gateway 300 via various ports as discussedabove. The customer premise equipment 102 could include multiple TVs106, telephones 110, and PCs 108 connected to a single and/or multiplebroadband residential gateway 300. Further, in certain embodiments, itmay be desirable to divide the broadband residential gateway 300 intomore than one physical package. In this manner, certain interfacecircuitry may be located outside of the home while various processingcircuitry may be located near a peripheral device such as in a settop.

Where the broadband residential gateway 300 is coupled to the hybridfiber-coaxial plant 112 in accordance with a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention, it may be configured to provide the user with bothinformation data (e.g., through an Ethernet interface), telephonyaccess, and TV service (e.g., HDTV, Digital TV and/or CATV services). Inexemplary embodiments, the hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 typicallyincludes both coaxial cable and optical fiber networks, though, wheredesired, the network may include only coaxial cable or optical fiber.The hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 may be coupled to a head-end hub(HEH) 115. The head end hub 115 may provide an interconnection point togather and/or transform external services (e.g., off air and satellitevideo, public switched telephone network voice, and Internet data) intoa format suitable for distribution on the hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112for use with the customer premise equipment 102. The head-end hub 115may include one or more cable modem termination systems (CMTS) 116coupled between the hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112, a Head-end (HE) 117and/or an Edge Router (ER) 118. The edge router 118 may be coupled tothe cable modem termination system 116 and to one or more ultra highspeed routers (UHR) 121. One or more ultra high speed routers 121 may beinterconnected to each other and/or through a centralized mechanism suchas an IP network database to form a high speed network. The high speedpacket network 120 n is one example of the network 120 (e.g., IPnetwork) shown in FIG. 1.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the high speed network 120 n includesthe ultra high-speed routers (UHR) 121 configured in a ringconfiguration. Although this embodiment shows the use of the IP networkdatabase (IND) 122, other configurations are also suitable. Where an IPnetwork database 122 is utilized, it may be desirable to incorporate oneor more data sets such as: a IP local number portability database (IPLNP) 122 a which may be utilized for transferring local DN among serviceproviders when a user changes their service provider; an IP caller namedatabase (IP CNAME) 122 b which may be utilized to provide a database ofnames relating to IP addresses and/or domain names; an IP lineinformation database (IP LIDB) 122 c which may provide alternativebilling and allow flexibility in determining who pays for a call; and anIP 1-800 Database (IP 8YY) 122 d which may provide a database of 1-800numbers relating to the IP network 120 a. Alternatively, the IP localnumber portability database may be located at another location, such asat an IP central station (IP Central) 200. Where desired, a localservice management system (LSMS) 150 may be arranged to providemanagement of the IP local number portability database. Where a localservice management system 150 is utilized, a plurality of local serviceorder administration (LSOA) units 152 may be coupled to the localservice management system by, for example, a number portabilityadministration center (NPAC) 151. In this manner, directory numbers maybe transported among different service providers. In such a case, a NPAC151 is generally coupled to the LSMS 150 and uses the LSMS 150 tosynchronize the numbering databases and to coordinate the portingprocess.

As indicated above, the broadband network 1 may include a plurality ofinterconnected high performance networks 120 n. Each high performancenetwork 120 n may include a separate IP central station 200 and/or sharea single IP central station. Having distributed IP central stationslocated throughout the broadband network 1 provides improved performanceand quicker response time for an individual user. Although notillustrated, each high performance network 120, 120 n may be connectedto multiple head-end hubs 115, each head-end hub 115 may be connected tomultiple hybrid fiber-coaxial plants 112, and each hybrid fiber-coaxialplant 112 may be connected to a plurality of customer premises equipment102, each containing one or more broadband residential gateways 300. Theplurality of high performance networks 120 n may be configured as aninterconnected network for routing packetized information frompoint-to-point in accordance with a desired destination.

The high performance network 120 n may be configured to provideconnectivity for and between a plurality of head-end hubs 115 and/or aplurality of broadband residential gateways 300 and other networks suchas the Internet, e.g., www 180, the public switched telephone network(PSTN) 160 and/or various signaling systems such as the SS7 network 170for end-to-end voice over IP applications. The IP central station 200may be configured to provide seamless integration and control of thehigh performance network 120 (e.g., an IP based communication system)interface with the public switched telephone networks (PSTN) 160,signaling system seven (SS7) 170, and/or the Internet 180 so thatpacketized data, voice calls, and other signaling information isproperly transferred between the broadband residential gateway 300 andthe public switched telephone network 160 and Internet 180. In certainconfigurations, the hybrid fiber-coaxial 112, head-end hub115, and highperformance network 120, provide a signal conduit for packetized voiceand data which may, with the coordination of the IP central station 200,be provided in the appropriate format between the broadband residentialgateway 300, the public switched telephone network 160, and/or the www180.

D. General Operation of Integrated Communication System

The typical home user is currently required to purchase multipleintelligent data conduits such as multiple set-top boxes, a plurality ofconventional, DSL and/or ISDN phones, cable modems, HDTV receivers,satellite receivers, home PC LANs, etc. The integrated communicationsystem of the present invention provides a user friendly versatilecommunication system that enables voice over IP telephony, informationdata (e.g., PC and Internet), and television services in a system withone intelligent customer premise equipment 102 interface, the broadbandresidential gateway 300. The broadband residential gateway 300 inconjunction with the IP central station 200 provides a flexiblecommunication system that can provide any number of integratedcommunication service features and functions without requiring the userto become familiar with numerous, diverse types of equipment.

In one exemplary application of the voice over IP operations, thebroadband residential gateway 300 digitizes the analog telephony signalusing, for example, G.711μ law coding (64 KBPS Pulse Code Modulation).The digital samples may then be packetized in, for example, thebroadband residential gateway 300 into IP packets. The broadbandresidential gateway 300 may be configured to encapsulate the IP packetsinto, for example, DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service InterfaceSpecifications) frames for transmission back to the head-end hub (HEE)115 over the hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112. The hybrid fiber-coaxialplant 112 may then be configured to transport signals for both upstream(to head-end hub 202) and downstream (to the broadband residentialgateway 300 and customer premise equipment 102) directions. Although theDOCSIS protocol is utilized in this example, any future protocol mayalso be used for the digitizing and packeting of data. Where theprotocol changes, it may be desirable to download new operating codefrom, for example, IP central station 200 to the individual broadbandresidential gateways 300, to update the communication protocolsdynamically. When new protocols are adopted, the IP central station mayutilize, for example, the system management server 216 to download newprotocol data into, for example, the protocol manager in the callmanager 218 and the program store 330 in the broadband residentialgateway 300.

Where voice packets are sent over constant bit rate (CBR) channels usingunsolicited grants, additional packet data channels may be used tosupport signaling messages (e.g., SGCP, Simple Gateway ControlProtocol), high-speed cable modem service and/or other upstream packetdata services. The upstream packet data services may be sent usingavailable bit rate (ABR) channels such that the voice channels notimpacted by data traffic.

E. TV Signal Reception

The head-end 117 may originate CATV signals for transmission over thedistribution network. However, in alternate embodiments, signals may beinserted at other points in the distribution network, such as at varioushubs or may arise at remote locations in the network such as IP central.Down stream channels may be utilized to facilitate the transmission ofsignals from the head-end or other input distribution point to thesubscriber premise. Where analog RF signals arrive at the broadbandresidential gateway 300 of the customer premise equipment 102,typically, the transceiver circuitry 302 will detect if the signal isaddressed to this broadband residential gateway 300. If so, thetransceiver will allow reception of the RF signal. Upon conversion to adigital format, the signal is typically output over the high speed bus(HSB) 360 to one or more associated devices for processing. For example,where the signal is a TV signal, the signal may be output directly tothe TV port 336 and/or processed by the settop box 350 prior tooutputting to the TV ports 336 and/or display 338. Where user channelselection is preformed directly in the broadband residential gateway300, channel selection may be preformed by remote control receiver 365using an external device such as a remote control. The remote controlreceiver may receive a plurality of individually coded remote controlcommands from different receivers and process the signals for only oneassociated device in accordance with the received commands. Alternativechannel inputs include the display 338 and/or any associated keypad.Authorization to certain channels may be controlled by securityprocessor 340.

Where a remote settop box is utilized, the box may be coupled directlyto the HFC for individual frequency tuning and/or receive a digital feedfrom the broadband residential gateway 300 after decoding the digitalsignal. For example, where hybrid fiber-coaxial plant 112 contains fiberconnections to locations near the individual homes, it may be desirableto download one or more simultaneous individually requested programmingstream(s) and/or digital data stream(s) to the broadband residentialgateway 300. In this manner, the number of channels, movie selections,and/or entertainment options available to the user are unlimited. Costis minimized since only a single intelligent user interface is used inthe home and all televisions, phones, computers, and/or other userinterface devices use the same intelligent user interface to thebroadband network 1. In this manner, the broadband network 1 may offerpremium television, voice and/or data services to multiple conventionaltelevisions, phones, and PCs without the use of multiple set boxes,modems, and external connections. Thus, the users are provided a singleunified interface to satisfy their external data needs.

F. Exemplary Call Flow of an On-Network Call to an Off-Network Call,with the Off-Network Call Initiating the Dropping

FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary call processing sequence for an on-netcall (e.g., an IP based call) to an off-net call (e.g., a publicswitched telephone network based call), in which the off-net partyinitiates the drop call sequence. The exemplary call processing sequenceoperates as follows:

1. Once the broadband residential gateway 300 detects an off hookcondition, the broadband residential gateway 300 may generate an offhook signal 508 to the call manager (CM) 218. The off hook signal actsas a dial tone request to the call manager 218. Alternatively, thebroadband residential gateway 300 may collect all dialed digits beforeactivating the off hook condition. This alternative may be desirable tosave resources at the call manager 218 where multiple incoming lines areavailable to handle any additional calls. Thus, even though one phone isoff-hook, the broadband residential gateway 300 determines that otherlines are available and does not initiate the off-hook signal until alldialing digits have been collected.

2. Where the call is managed entirely by the call manager, the callmanager 218 will issue a dial tone message 509 to the requestingbroadband residential gateway 300 in order for the broadband residentialgateway 300 to generate a dial tone to the associated phone. Where thebroadband residential gateway 300 shares management of the call, thebroadband residential gateway 300 generates the dial tone in response tothe off-hook condition.

3. Where the call is managed entirely by the call manager 218, the callmanager 218 will then enter a state where it polls and collects thedialed digits 510 from the broadband residential gateway 300. The dialeddigits may then be transferred to the call manager 218 one at a time asthey are entered. Alternatively, where the call set-up control processis shared between the broadband residential gateway 300 and the callmanager 218, the broadband residential gateway 300 collects the dialdigits and transfers these, together with the off-hook signal to thecall manager 218. This transfer may be facilitated by combining thisdata into a single data packet.

4. On receiving the dialed digits, the call manager 218 will determinewhether local number portability has been enabled. Where local numberportability has been enable, the call manager 218 may issue a localnumber portability (LNP) query 511 to the IP local number portabilitydatabase 122. The IP local number portability database 122 may thensupply the call manager 218 with a routing number 512 if the dialeddigits form a valid sequence. Where the dialed digits do not form avalid sequence, the call manager 218 will return an error indication tothe broadband residential gateway 300. The error designation may includea tone and/or a more detailed error message for display on, for example,display 338.

5. Where the call sequence is valid, the call manager 218 may issue afirst call proceeding message 513 to the broadband residential gateway300 indicating that the number is valid and the call is proceeding(e.g., a valid on-hook condition).

6. Next, the call manager 218 typically determines whether adequatenetwork resources are available to carry the call. In embodiments wherethe broadband residential gateway 300 is connected to a hybridfiber-coaxial plant 112, the call manager 218 may send an open gateallocation request 514 to the cable modem transmission system 116. Inthis event, it is often desirable for the cable modem transmissionsystem 116 to provide a gate allocation acknowledgement 515. A gateallocation acknowledgement may be utilized to verify that the necessarygate resources have been allocated.

7. The call manager 218 may send an open connection request 516 to thevoice gateway (VG) 232 in order to provision the connection. Once theconnection is provisioned, the VG 232 may provide an open connectionacknowledgement 517 back to the call manager 218.

8. For off network connections, it is often necessary to enter a secondphase of the connection process involving the appropriate link signalingto establish a call. For example, the call manager 218 may send an ISUPIAM (Initial Address) message 518 containing the directory number (DN)of the called party to the signaling gateway (SG) 234. This process isoften utilized to allocate the appropriate voice trunk forcommunication. The call manager 218 may also send an alerting message519 t the broadband residential gateway to produce an alerting signal,e.g., a ringing tone. The signaling gateway 234 may make the appropriateconnections when the trunk has been allocated and acknowledge therequest with an ISUP A call manager (Address Complete) message 520.

9. Once the called party has answered the call and connection isestablished, the signaling gateway 234 may send an ISUP ANM (Answered)message 521 to the call manager 218 indicating that the called party hasanswered.

10. The call manager 218 may then send a call start message 522 to theaccounting gateway (AG) 240, indicating the start of the call. The AG240 may use this information for billing purposes.

11. At this point, the link has been established and the conversation523 can proceed over the communications path. Note that althoughsignaling system 7 (SS7) signaling is used herein to illustrate thepresent invention and is a well known signaling protocol utilized in theart of telephony telecommunication, the instant invention is not limitedto the use of signaling system 7 (SS7) signaling for call establishmentof an off-network call; the use of signaling system 7 (SS7) signaling ismerely illustrative. As such, other methods of signaling may besubstituted for signaling system 7 (SS7).

12. When the called public switched telephone network user terminatesthe link, an on hook signal may be sent to the appropriate publicswitched telephone network switch, such as a 5ESS. The signaling networkmay then send a call termination message (not shown) to the signalinggateway 234 as notification of the call termination status.

13. The signaling gateway 234 may then generate a release 524 signal tothe call manager 218.

14. Upon receipt of the release 524 signal, the call manager 218 may a)initiate the relinquishment of the provisioned network resources byissuing a close connection 525 message to the voice gateway (VG) 232 anda release complete 526 message to the signaling gateway 234, b) informthe accounting gateway that the call has been terminated, for billingpurposes via, for example, sending a call end 527 message to theaccounting gateway 240.

15. With reference to the close connection 525 message, the voicegateway may respond by issuing a report message 528 to the call manager218 containing the current status of the call.

16. On receiving the call status report 528, the call manager 218 mayissue a delete connection 529 message to the broadband residentialgateway 300.

17. The broadband residential gateway 300 may then releases itsresources and sends a status report 530 to the call manager 218. Inaddition to the report 530, the broadband residential gateway 300 mayalso send an on hook 531 status report to the call manager 218.

18. The call manager 218 may then inform the broadband residentialgateway 300 to report the next off hook condition via message 532.

19. Where a cable modem transmission system is utilized, the callmanager 218 may then issues a release gate 533 message to the cablemodem transmission system 116 so that all the modem resources can berelinquished. Once the gate resources have been released, the cablemodem transmission system 118 sends a release gate complete 534 messageto the call manager 218. At this point, all resources pertaining to thecall have been relinquished.

G. Exemplary Call Flow of an On-Network Call to another On-Network User,Under One Call Manager Control

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary call flow of an on-network call toanother on-network user, with the call being handled by a single callmanager (CM) 218. In alternate embodiments, different portions of thecall set-up sequence may be handled by more than one call manager 218 inthe IP network 120. The exemplary “on-network” call processing sequenceoperates as follows:

1. Once the broadband residential gateway 300A detects and off hookcondition of, for example, a telephone, the broadband residentialgateway 300A may generate an off hook signal 607 to the call manager(CM) 218. The off hook signal may act as a dial tone request to the callmanager 218.

2. The call manager 218 may then issue a dial tone message 608 to therequesting near-side broadband residential gateway 300A in order for thebroadband residential gateway 300A to generate a dial tone.

3. The call manager 218 may then enter a state where it polls andcollects the dialed digits 609 from broadband residential gateway 300A.The dialed digits are transferred to the call manager 218 one at a time.In a similar fashion to the subject matter discussed above, inembodiments where the call setup is shared between the call manager 218and the broadband residential gateway 300A, the broadband residentialgateway may manage the call set-up and transfer both the off-hook signaland the dialed digits to the call manager 218 within one or more.

4. On receiving the completed dialed digits, the call manager 218 mayissue a local number portability query 610 to the IP local numberportability database 122. The IP local number portability database 122may then supply the call manager 218 with a routing number 611 if thedialed digits constitute a valid sequence.

5. The call manager 218 may then ensure that adequate network resourcesare available to accommodate the call.

6. Where adequate resources are available, the call manager 218 mayissue a first setup message 612 to whatever mechanism couples the farside broadband residential gateway 300, e.g., the cable modemtransmission system 116B, to allocate transmission resources on the farside.

7. A call proceeding message and a report on hook condition message 613may then be sent to the broadband residential gateway 300A.

8. A gate allocation message 614 may then be sent from the call manager218 to the cable modem transmission system 116A, where the broadbandresidential gateway 300A is coupled via a cable modem transmissionsystem. In this environment, a gate allocation 614 message may beutilized to set up the relevant modem resources.

9. Where a cable modem transmission system is utilized and receives thesetup message 612 from call manager 218, the cable modem transmissionsystem 116B may then send a connection request 615 message to the farside broadband residential gateway 300B.

10. Where a cable modem transmission system 116B is utilized, the cablemodem transmission system may then sends a setup acknowledgement 616 tocall manager 218. Once the resources are allocated by the cable modemtransmission system 116A, the cable modem transmission system may thensend a gate allocation acknowledgement message 617 back to the callmanager 218.

11. Once the call manager 218 receives the setup acknowledgement 616along with the gate allocation acknowledgement message 617, the far sidebroadband residential gateway 300B may then send a ringing message 618to the far-side cable modem transmission system 116B where thisconnectivity is utilized.

12. In these embodiments, the far-side cable modem transmission system116B may then issue an alerting message 619 to the call manager 218.

13. The call manager 218 may then convey the alert via an alertingmessage 620 to the broadband residential gateway 300A, to produce aindicating signal such as a ringing signal indicating that the call isgoing through.

14. The cable modem transmission system 116B may then issue a connectmessage 622 to the call manager 218 in response to the far-sidebroadband residential gateway 300B sending an off hook message 621 tothe far-side cable modem transmission system 116B. At this point, theend-to-end communication path is established and conversation 623 can befacilitated.

15. Assuming that the calling party hangs up first, the broadbandresidential gateway 300A may initiate an on hook sequence 624 messagewhich may be communicated to the near-side cable modem transmissionsystem 116A.

16. The cable modem transmission system 116A may then issue a disconnectmessage 625 to the call manager (CM) 218. The call manager 218 may thenissue a first delete connection request 626 to the near-side broadbandresidential gateway 300A and then a second delete connection request 627to the far-side broadband residential gateway 300B.

17. The near-side broadband residential gateway 300A may respond to thecall manager 218 with a report message 628 containing the connectionstatus, as well as an on hook message 630 to verify that the callingparty at near-side broadband residential gateway 300A has terminated thecall.

18. The far-side broadband residential gateway 300B may respond to thecall manager 218 with a report message 629 containing the connectionstatus, as well as an on hook message 631 indicating that the calledparty connection has now been terminated.

19. At this point, the call manager 218 may issue release gate messages634 and 635 to the near-side cable modem transmission system 218 and farside cable modem transmission system 116B, respectively, so as torelease the modems associated with the call. Once all the resources havereleases, the cable modem transmission system 116A and the cable modemtransmission system 116B may issue gate release complete messages 636and 637 respectively to the call manager 218.

20. For simplicity, the accounting processing is not shown. However, theprocess used in FIG. 5 may be utilized as the billing procedure foron-net calls. Such a process might constitute sending a call startmessage from the call manager 218 to an accounting gateway (AG) 240after the connect message 622 is sent from the far-side cable modemtransmission system 116B to call manager 218. The call start messagewould trigger the start of the billing procedure. A corresponding callend message would then be sent from the call manager 218 to the AG 240after the near-side cable modem transmission system 116A sends a thedisconnect message 625 to the call manager 218. This call end messagewould trigger the ending of the billing procedure for that call.

Although the IP voice packets for these calls are typically routed overthe IP network 120, the system may, where appropriate, route IP voicepackets over the Internet 180.

II. Personal User Network (Closed User Network) PUN/CUN

Subscribers to embodiments of the telephony network of the presentinvention may each have an associated subscriber profile. The subscriberprofile may include information representing the subscriber's chosendialing plans, billing plans, enhanced features, closed user groupfeatures, and/or other parameters such as default parameters. Asubscriber profile may be stored in a single storage device and/ordatabase, or distributed amongst several storage devices and/ordatabases in the network and/or in the subscriber's CPE 102 such as theBRG 300. For instance, subscriber profiles, or a portion thereof, may bestored in the Network Operations Center (NOC), such as within theBilling OAM&P 195.

The enhanced features that the subscriber may choose from and that maybe indicated in the subscriber profile are variously described in thisapplication and the other applications incorporated by reference herein.For example, the subscriber profile may indicate that a subscriber haschosen to have access to features such as call waiting, call forwarding,conference calling, call hold with reminder and/or information push,personal IP follow me service, and/or other such features in any desiredcombination or subcombination.

The dialing plans, billing plans, and closed user group features thatthe subscriber may choose from are described in the following text andwith reference to FIGS. 7-10.

A closed user group (CUG) may be any defined subset of subscribersand/or other users of the telephony system. The members of a CUG may beconsidered to be logically grouped together to form a single networkdomain. The CUG members may be using different BRGs and/or be atdifferent geographic locations from each other. For example, themembership of one CUG may consist of a particular subscriber and hisclosest relatives and friends. Another CUG may consist of the employeesof a particular corporation. Another CUG may consist of some or all ofthe members of a hobby group or professional interest group. The bottomline is, CUGs may be variously defined in any combination of users. Aswill be discussed below, CUG membership may be defined, dynamicallyadjusted, and/or otherwise controlled by members of the CUG, thetelephony service provider, and/or an external source.

A CUG may be geographically limited, or it may be global. For instance,one closed user group may be defined so as to include only those usersof the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) that arelocated in New Jersey, whereas another CUG may be defined to as toinclude all employees of a particular corporation that are working on aparticular research project, regardless of where those employees arelocated (e.g., one CUG member may be located in New Jersey, anothermember of the CUG in California, another member of the CUG in Paris,France, and another member of the CUG in Tokyo, Japan). Users may bemembers of the same CUG even through they may be users of different butcoupled telephony systems.

Several advantageous features may be provided through the use of CUGs.One such feature may be special billing of calls made between CUGmembers. For example, the members of a particular CUG may agree with thetelephony service provider to a fixed monthly rate for an unlimitednumber of calls between any members of the CUG anywhere in the globalsystem. For example, a CUG may include a member in the U.S. and a memberin Spain, wherein these two members may call each other at no charge forthe individual calls, as long as a periodic flat fee is paid. AnotherCUG may agree to a per-call charge, but at a rate that is reduced belowwhat the calls would normally cost were one or more of the parties tothe calls not members of the CUG. To ensure that the CUG members arebilled in accordance with the pre-negotiated rates, IP packets generatedfrom one CUG member and directed to another CUG member may be flaggedfor alternative billing plans. The billing system 195 may recognize theflag and bill the CUG member(s) accordingly.

Another feature that may be provided to CUG members is abbreviateddialing for calls made between CUG members. For instance, a particularexemplary CUG may consist of 500 members. Each member may be assigned athree-digit access number that is unique within the CUG (e.g., “001”,“002”, “003”, . . . “500”). To call another member of the CUG, a callingmember of the CUG need dial only the three digit number of the CUGmember to be called (e.g., “376”). In contrast, a user that wishes todial the same called CUG member may have to dial the called CUG member'sentire directory number (DN) (e.g., “7031234567”).

Intercom service may further be provided to CUG members. Intercomservice allows one member of a CUG to “call” another member of the CUG,except that the intercom call would be automatically completed betweenthe calling member and the called member, just as though each of themembers had an intercom system connected therebetween. The calledmember's phone may ring/alert to indicate to the called member that anintercom call has begun. Intercom calls may be audio, video, data, text,and/or any multimedia format. The BRG of the CUG members that areparties to the intercom call may include a speaker, microphone, camera,and/or video display to enable multimedia BRG station-to-stationintercom capabilities.

In operation, and referring to FIG. 7, a first member (referred toherein as “member A”) of a CUG may call a second member (referred toherein as “member B”) of the same CUG (step 701). Member A may dial theDN of member B,just as any other telephony user would. Alternatively,member A may use abbreviated dialing as discussed above. The dialeddigits may be passed from the BRG of member A to the CM (e.g., CM 218)(step 702). Upon receiving the dialed digits, the CM 218 and/or anotherserver in the network (preferably in the IP Central Station 200) maydetermine whether the dialed digits correspond to a DN, or whether thedigits are abbreviated and therefore correspond to the access number ofa CUG member (step 703). If the dialed digits correspond to a DN, thenthe call is handled and billed as normal (steps 704, 705).

However, if the dialed digits are abbreviated (e.g., only one digit,only two digits, only three digits, or only four digits), then the CM218 and/or another server in the network (preferably in the IP CentralStation 200) may determine whether member A is a member of a CUG (step706). For instance, the CM 218 may access the subscriber profile ofmember A and authenticate member A as being a member of a CUG. At thetime that CUGs are defined, the membership and/or features of the CUGsmay have been sent to the NOC (for example) within the OAM&P to beincluded within the subscriber profile. Thus, one way that the CM 218may authenticate member A is to access the subscriber profile stored inthe NOC. If it is determined that the calling party is not a member ofthe CUG, then the CM 218 may direct the AS 220 to provide a message tomember A that an error has been made in dialing (step 707).

If it is determined that member A is a member of a CUG, then the CM 218and/or another server (preferably in the IP Central Station 200) in thenetwork may determine the identity of the called party (i.e., member B)(step 708) according to the dialed digits sent to the CM 218. This maybe done by giving the CM 218 and/or other network server (such as theDHCP 214) access to a database (such as the DNS database 214) thatassociates access numbers with DNs and/or IP addresses of CUG members.As discussed in related applications incorporated herein by reference,each BRG and each CPE port of each BRG will have been dynamicallyassigned a unique IP address during system initialization by the DHCP214, and a predetermined DN will have been stored in the DNS database214. However, the DNS database 214 may also include the access numbers.For example, for CUG #1, access number 001 may be associated with a DNand/or IP address of the BRG (or BRG port) of a particular member of CUG#1, and access number 002 may be associated with a DN and/or IP addressof the BRG (or BRG port) of another particular member of CUG #1, etc.The DNS database 214 may include such data for a plurality of CUGs andfor a plurality of users. Thus, for example, the exemplary databasediscussed above may also associate (for CUG #2) access number 001 with aDN and/or IP address of the BRG (or BRG port) of a particular member ofCUG #2, and access number 002 with a DN and/or IP address of the BRG (orBRG port) of another particular member of CUG #2, etc. To determine theidentity and/or IP address of the called party, the CM 218 and/oranother network server such as the DHCP 214 may submit a query to theDNS database including the access number that was in the dialed digits.In response, the DNS database may return the corresponding IP address ofthe BRG (or BRG port) of the called party. Once the IP address of thecalled party is determined, the call may then be redirected by the CM218 to that IP address (step 709).

Further, the call may be billed in accordance with the terms of the CUGas agreed to with the telephony service provider (step 710). Forexample, the call may be billed at a reduced rate, or the call may befree where a periodic flat fee arrangement is used. To ensure that theparties are billed properly, the CM 218 may instruct member A's BRG toflag some or all of the IP packets that are sent to the BRG of member B.The flag may include one or more bits that may identify the particularCUG that is being used for the call. The billing system 195 mayrecognize the flag and read the flag to determine which CUG, and thuswhich billing plan, should be used for the call. To accomplish this, thebilling system 195 may have a database that associates CUGs and/or CUGmembers with billing plans.

Member A of the above example does not necessarily have to useabbreviated dialing in order to benefit from special billing within aCUG. As discussed with reference to FIG. 8, member A may call member Busing normal dialing (e.g., by dialing the DN of member B) (step 801).The BRG of member A may pass the dialed digits to the CM 218 (step 802),which may then handle the call as a normal call (step 803). If the callis determined to be a valid CUG call (step 805), then the call may bebilled according to the terms of the CUG agreement (step 806). Indetermining whether the call is a valid CUG call, the CM 218, the DHCP214, and/or another server may look up the calling party and the calledparty in a database. If the two parties are within the same CUG, thenthe call may be considered to be a valid CUG call that is entitled tothe special CUG billing of step 806. On the other hand, if the callingparty and the called party are not within the same CUG, then the callmay be billed as normal (step 807).

Calls within a CUG may alternatively be placed in a variety of differentways. Referring to FIG. 9A, the BRG and/or another CPE device (such as apersonal computer) of the calling party may include a display 900. Forthe purposes of illustration, it will be assumed that the display 900 isa display of a personal computer (such as personal computer 108) that isattached to the calling party's BRG (such as BRG 300). The display 900may include a textual and/or graphical user interface for dialing otherusers, including other members of the calling party's CUGs. For example,the display 900 may include one or more of the following in anycombination or subcombination: one or more scrollable windows 901including a scroll bar 902 that displays a selectable list of members ofa particular CUG; one or more selectable graphical icons 903 and/orbuttons that each correspond to one or more members of a particular CUG;one or more selectable graphical icons and/or buttons 904 thatcorrespond to a predetermined conference call setup; and/or a text entrybox 905 for entering text such as a DN and/or an access number to bedialed. The display 900 may further include selectable graphical iconsand/or buttons 906, 907, 908, 909 for performing various functions suchas initiating an intercom call, searching for a particular member,dialing a call, and/or editing the layout and/or features of the display900.

The calling party (e.g., CUG member A) may initiate a call and/or anintercom call (discussed below) by selecting one or more names from thewindow 901, by selecting one or more icons 903, by initiating aconference call by selecting the conference call button 904, and/or byentering one or more access numbers and/or DNs into the text entry box905. There may optionally be a requirement to select the dial button 908or the intercom button 906 before the call is initiated.

The layout and/or other features of the display 900 may be dynamicallychanged and/or otherwise customized by the calling party so as toinclude whichever CUGs are desired and/or whichever members of the CUGsare desired to be included. In the display 900, three exemplary CUGs ofthe calling party are shown: “IEEE members,” “Project ‘X’,” and “Project‘Y’.” Such layout and/or features may be customized, or edited, byselecting the edit button 909. FIG. 9B illustrates an example of how thedisplay 900 may look in response to the edit button 909 being selected.The display 900 lists the four members of the “Project ‘X’” CUG and thefive members of the “Project ‘Y’” CUG. These members are listed inscrollable windows 950,951. To edit the membership of a CUG, the usermay select a name or names from the list and then select either thedelete button 953 or 955, or the options button 956 or 957. If thedelete button 953 or 955 is selected, the name will be deleted from themembership. If the options button 956 or 957 is selected, then variousfeatures and/or options associated with the selected name may becustomized. For example, the member may be associated with a graphicalicon, and/or the DN of the member may be entered. To add a member, theuser may select the add button 952 or 954 and enter the name, DN, and/orother associated features and/or options. Thus, the subscriber maydynamically add and/or delete members of a CUG, and/or assign any keycombination, icon, and/or button to be associated with a member ormembers of a CUG. To return to the screen shown in FIG. 9A, the exitbutton 958 may be selected.

The calling party may be required to have the authority to modify themembership and/or features of a CUG. In some instances, a CUG may have acertain designated subset of the CUG members be a group owner or owners.The group owner(s) may be the only members that are authorized to modifythe membership and/or features of the CUG. For example, if a CUG hadmembers A, B, C, and D, it may be that only member A (the group owner)has the authorization to modify the membership and/or features of theCUG. Further, the group owner need not necessarily be a member of theCUG, but merely an administrator of the CUG. For example, if the CUGrepresents a special interest group such as the IEEE, then only the IEEEwould have the authority to add and/or delete members of the CUG. Themembers themselves would not have such authority. In this example, theIEEE may also own the database that contains the tables mapping theaccess numbers and/or DNs with the IP addresses. Thus, in step 708 (forinstance) the determination of the IP address of the called member mayinclude querying the database owned by the IEEE. Such a configuration(i.e., where the database is external to the IP telephony network) wouldreduce the amount of overhead processing required of the IP telephonynetwork.

Referring to FIG. 10, member A may also initiate an intercom call tomember B. In order to do this, member A may call member B by using anintercom feature code (e.g., “*1”) followed by the access code and/or DNof member B (step 1001). Alternatively, member A may initiate theintercom call by selecting one or more names from the window 901,selecting one or more icons 903, and/or entering the access code(s)and/or DN(s) in the text entry box 905, and then selecting the intercombutton 906. As an alternative to selecting the intercom button 906, aparticular name, icon, and/or button that corresponds to a called partymay be programmed to automatically initiate an intercom call by defaultwhen selected. For instance, the calling party may program each of theicons 903 so that selecting them automatically initiates an intercomcall with the party represented by the selected icon 903.

An advantage of one exemplary embodiment of the intercom call is thatlittle, if any, CM 218 processing is required. Thus, network overheadprocessing bandwidth is reduced. In order to bypass the CM 218, the BRGof member A may have access to its own database that maps access numbersand/or DNs with IP addresses of other members of the CUG. The databasemay be downloaded periodically from the IP telephony network and/or froman external source (such as the IEEE or other CUG group owner) via theIP telephony network, and stored in the memory 322 of the BRG and/oranother storage device. To prevent unauthorized access to the IPaddresses stored in the BRG, the IP addresses as stored may be encryptedand/or scrambled. After member A has initiated the intercom call in step1001, the BRG may map the access number and/or DN that was entered bymember A with an IP address of the desired called party, and/or the BRGmay correspond the icon and/or button selected on the display 900 withan IP address of the desired called party (step 1002). Armed with thedestination IP address, the BRG of member A may then direct the intercomcall to the IP address of the BRG port of the called party (e.g., memberB) instead of to the IP address of the CM 218 (step 1003).

If the intercom call is to be billed on a per-call basis, then it may bepreferable to have the intercom call initially be directed to the CM218. The CM 218 may then ensure that the call is properly billed and mayredirect the call to the called party's IP address.

If the intercom call is to be billed at a flat periodic rate wherein thecalls are not being individually billed, then a server in the network(such as in the IP Central Station) may download a cookie (e.g., atoken) to the subscribing member's BRG. The cookie may include data thatidentifies the cookie as being valid for the period that is paid for bythe subscribing member. For instance, if the subscribing member pays amonthly fee for monthly unlimited intercom calls to other members of aCUG, then a cookie may be downloaded each month that gives the BRG theauthorization for that month to provide direct intercom service and tobypass the CM 218 while making intercom calls.

The following copending U.S. patent applications, originally filed thesame day as the present application, are hereby incorporated byreference as to their entireties:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,167, entitled “Automatic PortStatus Reporting and Selective Call Barge-in For a Broadband Voice OverIP Telephony System and Method”” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,140, entitled “Automatic CablePhone Service Activation,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,141, entitled “Broadband CableTelephony Network Architecture IP ITN Network Architecture ReferenceModel,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,142, entitled “IP ConferenceCall Waiting” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,143, entitled “Conference Serverfor Automatic X-Way Call Port Expansion Feature”, invented by Kung etal.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,197, entitled “Wireless TouchScreen Television,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,195, entitled “ProgrammableFeature Buttons on a Broadband Residential Gateway,” invented by Kung etal.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,745, entitled “Automatic CallManager Traffic Gate Feature,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,201, entitled “Local NumberPortability Database for On-net IP Call,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,747, entitled “Personal IPFollow Me Service,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,194, entitled “Personal IPToll-Free Number,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475/196, entitled “User ProgrammablePort Hunting in an IP Based Customer Premise Equipment,” invented byKung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475/146, entitled “IP Leased Line,”invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,160, entitled “Anonymous CallRejection,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,161, entitled “AutomaticCallback With Distinctive Ringing,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475/162, entitled “IP MultimediaCall Blocking,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475/144, entitled “IP Call ForwardProfile,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475/671, entitled “IP Call ForwardFollow Me,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,670, entitled “Enhanced BRG withDisplay Capabilities,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,672, entitled “Hand HeldIntegrated IP Device,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,292, entitled “Wireless SettopBox,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,145, entitled “BRG PCMCIA CardCable Ready for PCs,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/476,494, entitled “Broadband ServiceAccess,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,798, entitled “Method forProviding Broadband Public IP Services,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,797, entitled “Method ForBilling IP Broadband Subscribers,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,165, entitled “BRG With PBXCapabilities,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,783, entitled “Enhanced IPSubscriber Alerting,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,782, entitled “Chase Me System,”invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,673, entitled “Call Hold WithReminder and Information Push,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,293, entitled “Activity Log ForImproved Call Efficiency,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,779, entitled “SelectiveInformation Admission,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,166, entitled “User ProgrammableFail-proof IP Hotline/Warm-line,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09 476,493, entitled “Authentication ofBroadband IP Telephony Service,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475/667, entitled “Simplified IPService Control,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,206, entitled “Personal Controlof Address Assignment & Greeting Options for Multiple BRG Ports,”invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,661, entitled “Protected IPTelephony Calls Using Encryption (P.I.E -Protected IP Encryption),”invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475.294, entitled “IntegratedMultimedia Messaging Service,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,666, entitled “Remote MonitoringThrough the BRG,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,296, entitled “Cable HeadendSystem with Pseudo-Switching Capabilities,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,287, entitled “A Method forPerforming Roaming Across Multiple IP networks,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,662, entitled “Scalable VoIPnetwork Server For Low Cost PBX,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,288, entitled “Call ServicesTransfer,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,204, entitled “Multiple CallWaiting in a Packetized Communication System,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,205, entitled “Optimizing VoicePaths in an IP Telephony Network,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,203, entitled “Call Waiting andForwarding in a Packetized Communication System,” invented by Kung etal.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,202, entitled “Incoming CallIdentification in IP Telephony,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,290, entitled “Incoming IP CallRemote Party Data,” invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,668, entitled “IP AddressInterworking Unit (IAIU) For Automatic IP V4 to V6 Address Translation,”invented by Kung et al.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/475,662, entitled “AutomaticOff-Hook Recovery and Fail-Proof Call Delivery,” invented by Kung et al.

We claim:
 1. In a broadband telephony network, a method for providingspecial billing to a closed user group of the broadband telephonynetwork, the method comprising the steps of: periodically receiving froman organization external to the broadband telephony network datarepresenting either a current set of members of the organization or adifference between the current set of members and a prior set of membersof the organization; updating a database of the broadband telephonynetwork according to the data; establishing a call between at least twoof the members; determining whether the at least two members are eachassociated in the database with the organization; and if the at leasttwo members are each listed in the database, billing the call at a ratedifferent from a rate that would be used if the at least two memberswere not associated in the database with the organization.
 2. The methodof claim 1, wherein the at least two members are anywhere in thebroadband telephony network.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the atleast two members are in different countries.
 4. In a broadbandtelephony network, a method for providing special billing to a closeduser group of the broadband telephony network, the method comprising thesteps of: receiving dialed digits from a first party, the dialed digitsrepresenting a second party; determining whether the dialed digits areabbreviated; if the dialed digits are abbreviated, determining whetherthe first party is a member of any closed user groups; if the firstparty is a member of a closed user group, determining an identity of thesecond party; establishing a call between the first and second parties;and billing the call at a rate different from a rate that would be usedif the first party were not a member of the closed user group.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, wherein the step of determining the identity of thesecond party includes comparing the dialed digits with a database andmapping the dialed digits to an identity of the second party.
 6. Themethod of claim 5, wherein the identity of the second party includes aninternet protocol (IP) address of the second party.
 7. The method ofclaim 4, further including the step of determining whether the secondparty is also a member of the closed user group, wherein the step ofbilling includes billing the call at the rate only if the second partyis also a member of the closed user group.